Theft, or “shrinkage,” is an ongoing problem for retailers. Because it can affect retailer profitability and has the potential to drive up prices experienced by all consumers, many shrinkage deterrent techniques are used to attempt to prevent it. These conventional techniques include installing cameras in stores, affixing security tags to individual products, and employing asset protection personnel in stores. While these and other techniques may deter some shrinkage activity, they are largely reactive rather than proactive. Moreover, they come with their own costs that must be absorbed by the retailer.
Accordingly, the ability to deter shrinkage from stores in a proactive way would be extremely useful to retailers while also improving retail customer experience. Therefore, new effective systems and methods for predicting and identifying retail shrinkage activity are needed.